


fürchtet euch nicht

by SapphiraBlue



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 14:21:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11670804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphiraBlue/pseuds/SapphiraBlue
Summary: Cloud and Vincent spend a night together in the church. Conversation is had and hope is found with the rising of the sun.





	fürchtet euch nicht

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ekala](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ekala/gifts).



> Apologies if this is late! I hope you enjoy this small fic; I've never written for FFVII before, or for this pairing, so I hope it's good!

A dark figure perched on the roof of the church, silhouetted against the unusually bright light of the moon. A breeze swept through the wreckage surrounding the damaged building, sweeping a cloud of dust along in front of it, and snatching at the ragged edges of Vincent’s cloak. He remained still as a statue, observing the landscape, sunk deep into his own pocket of silence and remorse. He waited.

 

Some time later, a low noise burned through the quiet night air, carried along by the breeze. The distinct humming of a motorcycle’s engine caused Vincent to shift as he recognized the sound. He unwound his arms from around his knee, gauntlet glinting coldly under the moonlight. He stood, and leapt off the roof, landing in front of the church in a light crouch. Dust puffed out from under his pointed shoes, the sound of his landing muffled by the late time and the dirt. He casually leaned up against the side of the building, knowing his target would arrive momentarily.

 

Minutes later, Fenrir growled to a stop inches away from the pointed tips of Vincent’s shoes. Cloud didn’t even raise an eyebrow at Vincent’s presence, almost as if he had been expecting him. Vincent knew this wasn’t the case; he had hardly had any contact with any of their mutual friends since end of the Geostigma crisis.

 

He supposed they were just similar enough that Cloud could understand him at times.

 

Cloud swung a leg over his bike, dismounting the powerful machinery, kicking down the kickstand and carefully leaning the bike against it. He brushed past Vincent, the heat radiating off his body reaching out towards him.

 

The church was quiet, the water of Aerith’s spring shimmering quietly under the open ceiling. The air smelled fresher here, greener somehow. The flowers growing around the outsides of the spring were large and vibrant, healthy in the otherwise devastated landscape. Cloud’s booted footsteps echoed quietly off the stone walls as he walked towards the edge of the spring. He sat, gracefully folding himself down until he was comfortably sprawled on the wood planks of the floor.

 

Vincent observed him from the doorway for a moment, watching the moonlight caught in Cloud’s bright hair. He joined him at the edge of the waters, quietly tapping across the floors and taking up his customary pose next to him. The silence between the two was companionable, as they simply allowed themselves to be themselves in the company of someone who understood.

  

The night wore on, and eventually conversation broke out. Cloud sighed, and the tension seemed to leak out of his shoulders, and he leaned back onto his hands. He looked up, past the broken roof, and up to the sky, where the stars were beginning to wink out as the sky lightened with the first hints of dawn. They discussed meaningless things, voices quiet in the church, barely louder than whispers.

 

Time wore on, and the sky began to flush with light as dawn properly began. Vincent felt sleep tugging on his companions’ eyelids, and watched quietly as his blinks took longer and longer. Finally Cloud swayed forward, and Vincent gently caught him, keeping him from taking another unexpected bath in the spring. He gently arranged Cloud against his own shoulder, wrapping him in part of his cloak to keep the early morning chill off.

 

Strangely enough, Vincent felt sleep sneaking up on himself, even though he had slept more than his fair share in his lifetime. He wrapped an arm around Cloud’s trim waist, absorbing his furnace-like heat, and leaned his cheek against his oddly soft hair. He closed his eyes, just for a minute.

 

~o0o~

 

The sound of voices approaching the church woke him up around mid-morning, a few hours into his unexpected nap. Vincent shifted, careful not to dislodge Cloud, who was still leaning against his shoulder. He peered over Cloud’s spiky hair, trying to get a glimpse of who was visiting the spring this early in the morning.

 

Tifa’s distinctive laugh shivered through the air, and Marlene appeared in the doorway, silhouetted against the bright sunshine outside. Denzel followed after her quickly, setting a hand on her shoulder as they took in the scene in front of them. Tifa caught up quickly, and a bright smile crossed her face as she saw the two of them.

 

She hurried across the floor with light steps, crouching down in front of them. Cloud stirred as Vincent’s deep voice hummed through his chest as he greeted Tifa. He yawned, and scrubbed at his face with the heel of his palm, trying to clear away the gritty feeling of not-quite-enough-sleep.

 

He lurched forward a bit as Marlene ran up and threw herself at Cloud’s back, hugging him around the neck, and clipping the side of Vincent’s head in the process. Vincent shook himself free of Cloud, rubbing a hand through his hair, getting fingers caught in the inevitable tangles. Tifa noticed, and shot a frown his way, a frown that usually meant he’d be threatened with a brush later. He ignored her, rising to his feet once he was sure Cloud could sit on his own. Marlene soon turned her attention to him, and he patted her head awkwardly as she hugged him around the waist as best she could.

 

He watched Cloud clamber to his feet and stretch, working out the kinks of the night awkwardly spent on a cold wooden floor. He saw the small smile stretch across his face as he bantered back and forth with Tifa, and swung Marlene around when she asked for it.

 

Tifa guilted them into getting breakfast and an actual steady amount of sleep at the Seventh Heaven. Marlene grabbed Cloud’s hand in one hand, and Denzel’s in the other, and as Vincent and Tifa walked behind the three of them, Tifa remarked how relaxed he seemed, how much like a family they were.

 

Vincent was lucky that his smile was hidden by the high collar of his cloak, but he felt like Tifa knew what he was thinking anyways, as she nudged him with her hip before smiling guilelessly at him. The corners of her eyes crinkled up when she smiled, he realized. He hadn’t noticed before; then again, they hadn’t really had occasion to smile, before.

 

Cloud glanced over his shoulder, and the happiness was clear to see shining out of his luminescent eyes. Vincent felt something in his chest settle into place with a soundless click, as if a part of himself had finally returned after too long.

 

And if he followed Cloud into his bedroom at the Seventh Inn, that was nobody’s business but their own, no matter what Tifa had to say.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Rammstein's song Sonne.


End file.
